Shoe Strings

reasons, he hoped the weather would hold for his raft trip
with Lita in the morning.  
    He tried to be excited about spending time with her, but
thanks to Cal and their confrontation last night, he’d been in a funk all
day.   It wasn’t like Jesse to brood
about the past.   He’d made amends
with his former wife and son, made a life for himself back home where he was
available to them at any and all hours of the day.   Why did Cal have to go and rehash all
the mistakes he’d made and throw them back in his face?
    Jesse hung the new helmets he’d bought on peg hooks and
sorted the older ones on a shelf behind the desk.   The new ones were color-coded according
to size, something that would save him and his staff time when they were trying
to get a big group off on schedule.   He thought of the way he’d left town years ago as he picked up a fallen
helmet.   He knew he hadn’t handled
it well, but looking back, he wasn’t so sure those years away were a
mistake.   They were necessary and
ultimately allowed him to settle and become the person he’d always wanted to
be.   In his heart, he knew that
wouldn’t have been possible if he’d stayed.  
    He glanced at his watch.   It was nearly time to pick up Ty from
school.   He was anxious to spend the
night with his son, make sure he hadn’t overheard any of the fight between him
and Cal last night.   Jesse couldn’t
stand to think Ty had heard and thought he wasn’t wanted or loved.   Ty hadn’t acted different or upset on
the ride home, but Jesse hadn’t been in the right frame of mind to pick up any
clues.  
    He’d fought with his dad before; certainly, over the years,
there’d been many arguments.   Even
the first month or two after Jesse came back home for good, Cal seemed so sure
Jesse would bolt again, he didn’t dare mention all the stuff he got off his
chest last night.   It’d been
building for years.   But what Jesse
couldn’t understand was why last night?   What had caused Cal’s dam to burst?   
    Had Lita and her undeniable charm gotten under Cal’s skin
too?   Had she told Cal about her
father and his protective instincts had kicked in?   God knew he wouldn’t be getting the
answers out of Cal anytime soon.   Jesse hung the last helmet, threw on his shirt, locked up the shop, and
headed for the Scout.
    As he pulled onto the familiar high school grounds minutes
later, he saw kids milling around the parking lot and under the trees that
surrounded the old brick building.   Some massed in groups, while others perched alone with their cell
phones.   No one seemed in a hurry to
leave.  
    He could remember the feeling, ending the day at this same
school fifteen years ago.   They’d
been so anxious for the last bell to ring and yet had meandered through the
tree-laden campus like they hadn’t been chomping at the bit to get out of there
only minutes before.   It seemed like
just yesterday he and Bryce and Kerri Ann would huddle around these same trees
and make plans.   More often than
not, he’d been forced to leave first, with either practice beckoning or his
long list of chores at home.   He’d
leave Bryce to see to Kerri Ann, make sure she got home okay.  
    Jesse remembered Lita saying Bryce and Kerri Ann had gone on
a date.   He wanted to see Kerri Ann
happy and Lord knew about the only man willing to take her on was Bryce
Jenson.   He was solid as a damn
rock.   His love for Kerri Ann ran as
deep as the still waters of the Powollachee.   So much of their lives, his, Kerri
Ann’s, and Bryce’s, had been affected by the gangly young boy who bounded down
the school steps, his backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder.  
    He was getting so big.   Jesse could see the changes in Ty’s body, hear it in his voice, feel it
in the way their relationship shifted toward friendship.   It overwhelmed him, the intense love and
pride he had for his son.   What
would Jesse do, he wondered, as Ty stopped to chat with a group of pretty
girls, if Ty became a young father and all their expectations for his life changed
without warning?  
    Ty’s grades never dipped below a B and he’d proved to be an
unusually gifted athlete.   His
baseball and football coaches had already dropped hints that he’d be
scholarship material.   Jesse had
balked at such talk, particularly because he’d heard the same rumors and felt
the same pressure when he’d been in school.   He’d loved sports, all of them, but talk
of